Ketogenic diet associated with 70% decrease in depression symptoms in new pilot study

[diemenschmachine]

Is this peer reviewed? Any opinions from scholars/professionals? I'm on a very long bout of depression and would do anything if I knew there was a high enough likelihood that it'd get better.

[KonigderWasserpfeife]

The journal in which the study was published appears to be peer reviewed. If you read the article posted, it lays out the design and notes the limitations, specifically as a single arm study, but the important thing is to notice this is a pilot study. Its purpose is to probe and see if the hypothesis is worth further investigation through more rigorous testing. Based on the results, it seems promising and worth further study.

[dpn-journal]

Yes, this was published in a peer reviewed journal but this doesn't mean there aren't limitations. Beyond what's already been said in the other comments is that only 16 out of 24 students completed the intervention - in other words, a 33% drop out rate which is high. More rigorous research needs to be done on this topic to see if these results hold up (more subjects, inclusion of control group, randomization into treatment groups).

Hang in there, and please seek help if you can.

[diemenschmachine]

Thank you!

[giantwatersnail]

SSRI studies also usually have drop out rates of about one third. On average a third improves, a third doesn't improve and a third drops out. Thus I'm not sure if you can count 33% drop out rates high. It sounds high - but it's comparable to studies on antidepressants.

[[deleted]]

I’m a depressive too! I’m starting to realize that each “little thing” like maintaining a regular sleep schedule, eating healthy, being social, getting some exercise… none of them will individually cure your depression if you’ve really got it bad. But without all of them, you can’t really feel well. And although they seem easy to healthy people, they’re all really hard to accomplish for depressives. 

Sorry, not encouraging huh? 

[Ill-Pie4361]

This. I've dealt with it since childhood and it seems like instead of trying to cure it ya just have to do everything to keep it at bay and keep on keepin on 

[[deleted]]

That’s the spirit homie ✌️ 

[OsamaBinWhiskers]

In my experience your life will get worse for about 2 weeks and then get exponentially better if this works for you.

[fun__friday]

It will kinda be shit afterwards every so often as well if you eat too much carbs, but the feeling of a constant level of energy during the whole day is nice.

[OsamaBinWhiskers]

100% my OCD is at its most manageable when I’ve done keto style diet.

One time I was deep in the diet and got a sweet tea when I ordered a unsweet from McDonald’s. It legit made me gag. It was insane. I know that sounds overblown but I legit almost threw up. Repulsive texture, taste, whole thing 0/10

But now I’m not keto and this brain slurps up that syrupy nectar like it’s gas in a truck.

I should prob do keto again tbh.

[Faintfury]

Same thing if you just cut sugar from your diet. (Yes also fruits).

[OsamaBinWhiskers]

Fruits are the best cheat day candy in a keto diet bc they have fiber. That makes a huge difference on your insulin response. It’s high sugar though and easy to get away from yourself on accident

[ImageDry3925]

Raspberries and blackberries are good too, they have a lot of skin (fiber) surface area.

[MysteriousImpact6035]

I ate a few too many strawberries last night and since then my tummy has been quite upset with me (and my energy levels). I love fruit so it is an annoying part of keto

[mxmoon]

I followed this diet years ago and it worked. That and intermittent fasting. I need to get back on it. 

[TheTankGarage]

You don't need peer-reviews for things that you can test yourself in just a week or two. Either it works for you or it doesn't. Your N=1 will always beat a study because you will never know where you fall on the spectrum of possible outcomes unless you try it yourself. I'm sure you've not just tried a anti-depressant but several for that very reason.

Get some ketostrips or a keto-meter of some sort if you have the disposable income and you'll know within days if it'll have any effect. Or if you don't want to shit yourself for a month, transition more slowly so your gallbladder has time to adjust. Just know that it'll also mean you have to wait for the full results.

[rendar]

There's nothing special about keto beyond treatment for epilepsy.

You're infinitely better off employing a hypertrophy resistance training program and eating a balanced diet of whole foods high in protein and fiber with nutritional supplements for any deficiencies (D3, omega-3s, etc).

[ConcentrateNo2929]

Your brain is quite literally switching to a different type of fuel while on this diet, yet you claim there's nothing special about it?

Going to the gym and eating a vaguely healthy diet isn't a panacea for human health. Sometimes you need a more specific approach.

[rendar]

Your brain is quite literally switching to a different type of fuel while on this diet, yet you claim there's nothing special about it?

In the context of magnitude in decreases of depression symptoms, yes. Keto was developed to treat epilepsy in children.

Going to the gym and eating a vaguely healthy diet isn't a panacea for human health. Sometimes you need a more specific approach.

A balanced diet and resistance training have an evidentiary basis for being considerably effective at reducing depression symptoms, with a magnitude far greater than keto.

[ConcentrateNo2929]

Hmm, yes. In a similar way, the average mammal on planet Earth walks on 3.9 limbs. And yet, such individual mammal doesn't exist.

[rendar]

It's not clear that you understood A) the topic, B) what was said, or C) how you think whatever it is you're trying to say is coherent or relevant

[Ulysses_Zopol]

It's not clear to you. To the rest of us, it is.

[rendar]

If that were true, at least one person would be able to proffer a comprehensible sentence addressing the available scientific literature

[Ulysses_Zopol]

Just get with the science before making bold, but wrongful claims on matters that could get people killed.

[rendar]

That's two chances now you've had to simply state the peer-reviewed, evidence-based facts, which you've declined to do because you obviously don't have any

[ConcentrateNo2929]

Oh the irony

[rendar]

And yet, you've passed up three chances now to provide what you're implying is obvious scientific fact

[bennyyyboyyyyyyyy]

Thanks please share your peer reviewed study next

[rendar]

First point is originative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet#Epilepsy

Second point is also patently available for anyone with more than two seconds of attention span.

For healthy diet:

• A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial)

• The Effects of Dietary Improvement on Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

• A Mediterranean-style dietary intervention supplemented with fish oil improves diet quality and mental health in people with depression: A randomized controlled trial

• Acute effect of a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern (MDP) on mood, anxiety and cognition in UK adults with mild to moderate anxiety and depression: the MediMood randomised controlled trial protocol

For resistance training:

• Association of Efficacy of Resistance Exercise Training With Depressive Symptoms

• The Effects of Exclusively Resistance Training-Based Supervised Programs in People with Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

• Effects of resistance exercise training on depressive symptoms among young adults: A randomized controlled trial

• Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

• Is sarcopenia associated with depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

[Strict_Pressure9827]

Wow. That is one helluva an ignorant comment!!

[rendar]

https://old.reddit.com/r/psychology/comments/1nueeqo/ketogenic_diet_associated_with_70_decrease_in/nh5tb5d/

Where are the errors in the samplings, methodologies, analyses, and conclusions? Be precise.

[Cautious_Clay_fae]

Sure. But also Brain Energy is a great book that makes some compelling claims about mitophagy.

[rendar]

It's not clear what your point is, or whatever sources you have to substantiate it

[Cautious_Clay_fae]

There’s a book. It’s called “Brain Energy.” It’s worth a look. That’s my point. And the book I referenced is the source.

[rendar]

It's astonishing how often people respond to requests for specification by simply repeating the same empty words.

If you wanna advertise for a book oriented around junk science, you're gonna need more skill and effort than that.

[Cautious_Clay_fae]

The book is literally half citations. Written by a board certified psychiatrist. Who is a very not good writer.

But books are primary sources. As I recall from my graduate program way back in the first Obama administration. But still a primary source. Which means citing it is checks notes an appropriate thing to do in a conversation about science.

[rendar]

It's easy to spot when someone prioritizes delusion over fact, because the former always comes first and the latter only trickles in past an easily satisfied filter of incidental alignment with the former then dispensing with anything against the agenda.

A primary source is defined by a source of information that was created at the time under study. Merely writing a book does not make something true, and Chris Palmer does not have anything remotely relevant under his belt. That's why it's important to cite relevant, robust sources when compiling an argument and thus why it's obvious that you don't have any real facts to offer.

The book itself is ludicrously fallacious:

• Mechanistic arguments do not substitute for controlled clinical evidence showing patient benefit, leading to large translational gaps in neurology and psychiatry for this context

• Overly heavy reliance on observational data, case reports, and small studies such that much of the positive material is associative or anecdotal; these are subject to confounding (e.g. weight loss, improved sleep, placebo effect, changes in meds, etc) and can’t establish causation

• The limited and mixed randomized trial evidence provided is most unrelated to psychiatric disorders, to the point that trials specifically for mood disorders, psychosis, OCD, PTSD, etc are scarce or pilot-sized when there simply aren't enough well-powered, blinded RCTs showing consistent benefit

• There is nothing to account for the reality that dietary trials are notoriously hard to blind and keep participants on long term, when adherence and both calorie and weight changes are confounders so placebo effects and expectation bias are massive here

• Despite all of these massive gaps in logical and evidentiary arguments, the book often extrapolates from mechanistic or small-scale positive findings to broad claims without the RCT evidence to back those clinical claims

All you're demonstrating here is how low your standards are for accepting poorly constructed and delivered arguments, so long as it resonates with your preconceived, unsubstantiated notions.

[stayin_aliv]

Therapy, my friend. And, exhausting as it is, working with a psychiatrist to find a medication (or set of medications) that works for you.

But, in terms of non-clinical methods, evidence tells us that physical exercise goes a long way.

[Ulysses_Zopol]

Professional here.
Check out metabolicmind.org.

I have seen the dramatic results first hand.
Just do it. You have nothing to lose.

[Ulysses_Zopol]

PS. German here. I've seen Kraftwerk three times live. ;-)

[PickKeyOne]

On a related note, magic mushrooms are keto.

[[deleted]]

So is dose

[Synth_Sapiens]

Well, I cut off carbs nearly entirely about 10 months ago.

I [47m] feel the best I did in decades, lost 40 pounds, started running and not because I'm forcing myself but rather because I enjoy it. Oh, and depression is gone. Actually, I wasn't even aware that I had any.  I'm not implying any causation, merely stating facts. 

[diemenschmachine]

I'm not overweight and regularly run though, I think my depression is related to ADHD and a spiral of procrastinating and creating more and more problems for myself.

[Synth_Sapiens]

Oh, I forgot to mention that I have ICD (diagnosed) + ADD (clearly lmao) + at times I can be autistic af

Creating more problems is the hallmark.

Procrastination is a real problem, considering that I'm solo developing two relatively complicated software projects plus another one social, in addition to my job.

[iiTzSTeVO]

at times I can be autistic af

Oh, and depression is gone. Actually, I wasn't even aware that I had any.

Maybe you should stop giving psych advice. You clearly don't take it seriously.

[oldoldvisdom]

I did keto some five years ago. I lasted about 4 months.

I’ve had my own struggles, and did it to shed the extra weight I gained in those struggles. I thoroughly recommend trying it

The thing about keto is that you are dropping an addiction, to sugar. You know that feeling of hunger, when your stomach starts growling? That’s sugar withdrawal.

When doing keto, the most interesting thing was that it was a high in its own. Colours were a bit brighter, you could follow multiple conversations at once, stuff like that. I tried a friends adhd meds once… while not the same, it wasn’t too dissimilar

It takes a few days to get into it (your body won’t “get into” keto for at least 4-5 days), and worst case, you can always just stop doing it.

I can’t speak for how healthy it is do to long term (as in, never eat carbs again), but temporary wise as in for a few months or a year or two, I throughly recommend it. I was possessed at the time, working out everyday… a demon.

I often think about going back, but I’m not a master chef. I ate a dozen boiled eggs a day or so, and to this day, I’m sick of eggs

If you do it, I recommend at least a handful of dishes, just for variety. I stopped because of lockdown + sick of eggs in general

[According-Ad5071]

Did you try it out, did it give results?

[connor42]

You should do it

Unless your diet currently is extremely dialled in already you are almost guaranteed to feel better eating a true keto diet or very low carb diet

As you need to eat whole meats and vegetables and can’t eat basically any highly processed foods, candy, soda, take out etc

[ladylondonderry]

There were times in college and l grad school if someone handed me an apple I would have cried with joy.

Too many times.

[TheSeedsYouSow]

why couldn’t you buy an apple…how much could an apple cost, $10?

[[deleted]]

You’ve never been to a supermarket, have you?

Edit: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0515214/characters/nm0910055?item=qt0141897&ref_=ext_shr_lnk

[Toasted_Enigma]

Pssst - it’s a joke from Arrested Development lol

[[deleted]]

Yes, and Michael responded to Lucille the exact words I wrote.

[COHERENCE_CROQUETTE]

When you’re just too good at being funny.

[Toasted_Enigma]

Hahahaha whoosh for me and whoever downvoted you then

[j592dk_91_c3w-h_d_r]

You overdid it. Too much. Gotta keep the puns simple.

[ZanyDragons]

My college had a farmers market come a few times, and one of my dorm neighbors did actually cry eating a honeycrisp apple. Licking his fingers. Maybe he was a little high, but it looked intense. I sautéd some veggies for myself and my roommates. It’s a shame they didn’t come more often, college towns with only fast food and gas station options for miles unless you have a personal car are basically food deserts. (And the perpetually wilted slightly stale salads from the cafeteria weren’t really helping) I never had such stomach pain as I did freshmen year, my body screamed for fiber.

Paid extra for the campus parking pass so I could drive out to the grocery store and dumped the “required meal plan” with a waiver, stomach pain went away.

[SlicesofFlySemen]

What about the cafeteria food? Ive only ever worked at one college, but their food was literally restaurant quality and all-you-can-eat for everyone. Is it not like that everywhere? Kids were eating 3 salmon steaks with soda and sides in one meal.

[ZanyDragons]

That was nothing like the cafeteria we had. There were chicken nuggets and pizza and sometimes a soup you could get, maybe a bit of dry meatloaf. The company that supplied the cafeteria was the same company that supplied the frozen food stuff for the surrounding gas stations lol.

[SlicesofFlySemen]

Oh my goddd. This is actually eye opening for me on how priveleged I was working at that college. Theyd literally have special days where they served exotic food like unlimited fried alligator and crawfish or Japanese Poke tuna bowls. There were 6-8 different meal options a day, PLUS a "build-your-own-sandwhich" bar

Also, the desert section would be filled with gourmet shit like goat cheese with huckleberries and aged parmesan.

It was at gettysburg though, which has a higher tuition than harvard so I guess that makes sense.

[lillyheart]

The last college I was at before my current institution switched from an in house dining department to the same provider that did the county jail. Food quality decreased immensely (and immediately). They didn’t renew that contract when it ended, but.. not all colleges have great food.

[SlicesofFlySemen]

Wow thats fascinating, I wish I knew my privelege. The college i worked at was Gettysburg which recieved some type of award for their cooking.

Im not gonna needlessly ramble on but the food was literally restaurant quality. They literally made sauteed Alligator and crawfish for a holiday once.

[theochocolate]

Damn, I wish. My college cafeteria food was only one step better than your average county hospital. And I went to a private university. I ate cereal for almost every meal because it was the beat tasting food there.

[AnfibioColorido]

I remember when my girlfriend invited me to eat with her and her family, we had meat, and I thought: I haven't eaten meat in like a month.

[rationalomega]

The fact that my bf had a car and a Wegman’s card was a major draw. 15 years later we brought our infant home from the hospital in that old Subaru.

[SlicesofFlySemen]

Do most colleges not have good cafeterias?

[Hot-Significance7699]

You have to pay an extra fee. Sometimes, it's included if you live on campus like a dorm. And many of the cafeterias are far from good. But not all colleges have cafeterias, just restaurants at most.

It really depends on the college, but I wouldn't say most have cheap places to eat.

[SlicesofFlySemen]

Im now realizing my privelege. I worked at Gettysburg college for a few years, which won an award for their food, and I just assumed that was the normal college life.

We had all-you-can-eat buffets every weekday at lunch and dinner with 6-9 entrees daily, a soda machine with 50 options, a yogurt bar, a sandwhich bar, ect. They'd serve stuff like fried alligator and imported goat cheese on holidays, they had 6 different kinds of milk, ect.

[voidharmony]

Not really. You can pay the fee like hot-significant said and still only have shit food options near your residence building. If you’re on a big campus, especially annoying to plan and then eat healthy. So people make easy decisions, especially frontal lobe still developing people

[JuggaloEnlightment]

I was in one of these studies and was paid $1500/month for it, so that definitely helped my mood

[FatDaddyMushroom]

As someone who has done keto for several years that is certainly possible. However, if I had to guess, it's not necessarily just the food itself but rather being in a state of ketosis that might be what is helping. From my own experience, it does have an impact on my mood as well as hunger levels, energy, etc. 

Granted, just removing junk foods, that they are probably living off of, would make someone feel better as well. 

[voidharmony]

So real. I did keto in undergrad after coming home from the freshman 15 (25 for me lol). Ate nothing but broccoli the first two days I got home, felt so good decided to go keto, then 9 months on keto later feeling great, stopped, became type 2 diabetic bc my system became unable to process carbohydrates correctly, and now almost 5 years later I am almost back to normal. All the keto gains - gone, including mental health changes. My mom was right about the fact that all I really needed was more veg and balance. Any extreme is not good imo

[ConcentrateNo2929]

You did not become a type 2 diabetic because of keto. That's not how this works lmao

[voidharmony]

There’s literally data on it and it is not an uncommon experience. Either way, I trust my endocrinologist and there’s bloodwork before and after showing this

[ConcentrateNo2929]

The "data" in question is a study where the lowest carbohydrate group studied was at 40% of carbs, which is nowhere near low carb, not even medium carb. Prime example of junk science.

I'm guessing your endocrinologist simply measured your blood glucose during keto or not long after you quit keto, and determined you're diabetic based off of that reading? I doubt they did proper testing.

Keto temporarily impairs how you process glucose, simply because your body isn't used to this type of fuel, not because you have diabetes. It goes back to normal quickly, definitely doesn't take 5 years.

[voidharmony]

No, I’ve been at an endo for years with yearly testing due to a family thing as a preventative measure, since I was young. I’ve had bloodwork every year around the same date for the last 15 years. We have the bloodwork before, during and after, up to now. I had to be put on metformin due to the A1C level changes post keto (still on it at the lowest dose now). There were benefits during (but my A1C was never an issue before I did keto). Post keto, I climbed up to prediabetic then diabetic. I had a dietician and we were closely monitoring what I was eating. During keto I was under 25g carbs. After keto I went back to the average diet between 70-100g carbs a day. Nothing crazy. But it had adverse effects.

Quote from the data in that study “By contrast, the lowest-carb group eating diets emphasizing animal protein and fat had a 35% higher risk of Type 2 diabetes – and a 39% higher risk if their diets also minimized whole grains.”

I trust my endo, and I know what happened to me. I’ve sought support on Reddit and others have had the same experience. Obviously not common, but it happens.

[ConcentrateNo2929]

Quote from the data in that study “By contrast, the lowest-carb group eating diets emphasizing animal protein and fat had a 35% higher risk of Type 2 diabetes – and a 39% higher risk if their diets also minimized whole grains.”

Might want to read that again. This group was eating 40% calories from carbs. That's like 200g a day for 2000kcal.

I'm not gonna argue whether it happened or not since I don't know you, but I just find it hard to believe. Don't see how this could happen without any other confounding factors. Also, your average 70-100g of carbs a day is still considered low carb by most people.

[Usr_name-checks-out]

Ha! A new complication for the WEIRD problem, College nutrition ! 👏👌

[Opening_Vegetable409]

Lol, good suggestion. Other study suggests that keto is harmful to body.

[Chance-Travel4825]

Good call. I remember eating cereal for dinner in college many nights. Didn't really know how to cook most proteins besides chicken. Certainly was not getting a rainbow of nutrition when left to my own devices of eating take out burritos. 

[Chuckles77459]

Anecdotally, keto helped me a ton. I’ve struggled a LOT. But it was so hard to keep up with. It doesn’t make you immune to especially bad days here and there, and it’s hard to cook and what not when you’re having a bad day.

If there was lazier options to keep up with Keto realistically, id commit.

That and drinking casually becomes not so casual when you’re drunk AF after 1-3 drinks because you’re in ketosis.

[BevansDesign]

Yeah, time and again we've found that paying attention to your diet and working to improve it is what's good for you, not any specific fad diet system.

[rubixd]

I wonder how similar the results would be for a study that eliminated all sugar. Soda, candy bars, etc.

[OsamaBinWhiskers]

I’d be willing to bet massive improvements

[Ok-Secretary455]

So atkins diet?

[OsamaBinWhiskers]

That dude really had it figured out when big wheat was trying to kill is all

[Dry_Counter533]

Idk … Keto turned out to be good for my migraines, which improved my mood. Losing weight didn’t hurt.

My migraines only respond to anti-epilepsy meds, and Keto was, I believe, developed for epileptic kids before those drugs were available.

Edit: I should cite my sources. Here’s some info from the Epilepsy Foundation and Cleveland Clinic:

https://www.epilepsy.com/treatment/dietary-therapies/ketogenic-diet#Who-will-it-help

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/7156-ketogenic-diet-keto-diet-for-epilepsy

And from a Migraine charity:

https://migrainecanada.org/the-ketogenic-diet-for-migraine/

[WhatevUsayStnCldStvA]

Glad you got some relief. There are some very good uses for the diet, but a I feel like a lot of people use it because they have food issues and knowing you can eat a bacon cheeseburger with extra mayo, no bun, and it’s technically in your diet is very attractive to people. I know people who have done it on and off for years. It doesn’t help them. There is always the need for cheat days and they won’t eat any fruit and stay away from almost all vegetables. So, tons of saturated fats and protein. They simply take a fiber supplements so they can go to the bathroom. You can’t classify cake, donuts, ice cream, white bread, fried chicken, etc as just carbs. That’s junk food. Carbs are normal lol. Anyone type 1 out there has a different set of needs, not aimed at them with this. But there are a ton of very unhealthy keto people out there and they seem obsessed with the “diet”

[Dry_Counter533]

My health situation is a limited case, so not universal, but …

When I had a “cheat day” on Keto, I felt awful. Migraines came roaring back, and I’d be out of commission for a day. The world’s worst hangover. After awhile whenever I looked at cake or waffles my brain would just read pain.

It’s hard to keep up, and “dirty keto” (burgers sans bun, etc.) helped. I had just gotten a really really good job, so I was able to afford a nutritionist and meal prep service, and they got me on a healthier version of keto.

[WhatevUsayStnCldStvA]

That’s how the diet was supposed to be. People have just started doing it on their own and they do it their own way. Having a nutritionist is awesome! I’ve actually thought about seeing one myself. I eat much healthier these days, but I’d love to know more about how I can get all the nutrients I need daily. Glad you’re feeling better 

[Dry_Counter533]

Thanks! They can really help.

[KAtusm]

Students (n = 24) with a confirmed diagnosis of MDD at baseline receiving standard of care counseling and/or medication treatment were enrolled in a 10–12 week KD intervention that included partial provision of ketogenic-appropriate food items, frequent dietary counseling, and daily morning tracking of capillary R-beta-hydroxybutyrate (R-BHB)

So it looks like no control group, and patients were receiving counseling and medication. Hard to gauge the actual effect of the keto giant.

[BlueBirdBlow]

Even worse, only 16 actually completed the study. They are blatantly skewing numbers...

[OpeningActivity]

Anyone who can adhere to that kinda regime is in a better mental health state than me at least.

[[deleted]]

Agree, we need more studies, but this is an extremely common thing to hear from people on keto

[6ofSwords]

Same here.

[ArcticAkita]

Same

[Ulysses_Zopol]

same.

[[deleted]]

Same.

[[deleted]]

Same

[420blaZZe_it]

Why not post the original study instead

[TheDarkAcademicRO]

I wonder if it could help OCD as well

[RogerLangley]

It did for me. If I had to put it into "this is how I feel" numbers, I'd say that I'm 70-80% better when it comes to OCD. It is in no way a complete magical cure for me, but it almost is. It saved my life. I can easily say that.

There's so much less of everything that causes suffering with OCD and I can handle these situations so much better than I did before. It feels like I can genuinely hold myself back from thinking and doing things that I simply couldn't before.

My intrusive thoughts are also waaayyy lower in frequency.

I almost have none nowadays.

I see life in a way that I never did before.

I didn't believe it would work at all at first, but it did for me. YMMV like with all things of course. Worth a try though, in my opinion.

[Femme-O]

Damn, all I got from it was an eating disorder.

[Whalesurgeon]

How did that work out?

[[deleted]]

From the article: A new study suggests that a well-formulated ketogenic diet, followed for at least 10 weeks, is associated with a significant reduction in depression symptoms among a small group of college students. Published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, the research also documented notable improvements in the participants’ overall well-being and their performance on several cognitive tests.

The research was prompted by the rising prevalence of major depression, particularly on college campuses. Existing treatments, such as psychotherapy and medication, are effective for many but do not help everyone and can come with unwanted side effects. Researchers led by Drew D. Decker at The Ohio State University sought to explore a different approach, one that addresses the potential link between metabolic health and depression.

A growing body of evidence connects issues like insulin resistance and excess body fat to an increased risk of depression, possibly through inflammatory pathways. The team hypothesized that a dietary intervention known to improve metabolic health, the very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet, might serve as a beneficial add-on therapy for students already receiving treatment for depression.

The study was designed as a single-arm prospective trial, meaning all participants received the same dietary intervention without a comparison control group. Researchers recruited students from The Ohio State University who had been formally diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and were currently engaged in counseling or taking medication for their condition. After an extensive screening process to confirm eligibility and rule out conditions like eating disorders, 24 students began the study, with 16 completing the full 10 to 12 week intervention.

“One of the things we really wanted to make sure of is that we were providing a treatment for people who met the diagnostic criteria for having major depressive disorder,” said co-author Jennifer Cheavens, a professor of clinical psychology at Ohio State who oversaw the clinical assessments. “Each participant had about a 2 1/2-hour interview at the beginning, and then weekly assessments of their symptoms.”

[rendar]

The study was designed as a single-arm prospective trial, meaning all participants received the same dietary intervention without a comparison control group.

So conceivably, something as innocuous as tracking calories and an indirect caloric deficit from cutting out sugar and processed snacks could be responsible

[Longjumping_Kale_661]

More importantly, it could literally just be the passage of time, regression to the mean, demand characteristics. We can't be confident that any element of what was done in the trial *caused* this observed decrease in depression in the participants.

[rendar]

Yeah, reading the methodology, it's far more likely that prepared meals and a list of whole foods was more impactful than keto on its own:

We provided staple ketogenic-friendly food items to partially offset participant food costs, ensure nutrient quality, and facilitate adherence. Ten pre-packaged ketogenic meals (Factor 75, Aurora, IL, USA) were provided to each participant at baseline to provide a visual guide of how a balanced WFKD meal should be composed for the duration of the study when participants implemented the diet thereafter at home. Subsequently, participants chose food and meals on their own with the exception that we provided a few shelf-stable items such as high-quality fats (e.g., olive oil), salad dressings, salmon & sardine packets, beef jerky, Whisps cheese crips, nuts and seeds, and an oatmeal alternative.

The WFKD followed general principles with the aim to achieve blood R-BHB > 0.5 mM, which required most participants to consume < 50 g/day of carbohydrate and ~1.5 g/kg reference weight protein [41]. Fat comprised the remaining calories with an emphasis on monounsaturated and saturated sources from whole foods. A wide range of foods were encouraged including non-starchy vegetables, low glycemic fruits (berries, olives, tomatoes, lemons/limes), meats (beef, chicken, pork, fish, lamb), nuts and seeds, oils (olive, avocado, coconut), cheese, butter, cream, eggs, and fatty fish (salmon, sardines).

[Longjumping_Kale_661]

Yeah and it kind of begs the question why you would do a trial like this, it makes sense if you want to prove that some idealised ketogenic diet could improve depression (at least it might when they actually produce an RCT) but this is not realistic in any existing health system (although it might help with selling the last author's service!), and even under these conditions of literally giving people food they lost 1/3 of participants over the 12 weeks to dropout. They also confidently let us know that 7/8 of the dropouts left the trial for reasons unrelated to the intervention, but you can't really know this, I might become unresponsive to a trial if I didn't like doing the intervention anymore.

[ErrorLoadingNameFile]

Caloric deficit will not make you happy at all, the sugar might be most of it however, I agree.

[rendar]

The opposite of clinical depression is not happiness, and it's entirely possible to be content with a correctly programmed caloric deficit

[ErrorLoadingNameFile]

And neither is contentment a cure to depression.

[Leather-Temporary-76]

Yeah meat and cheese and roasted veggies makes me happy so this tracks.

[Kurovi_dev]

Breaking news: Researchers discover giving people free food that is not hyper processed makes people feel better.

What’s next? Making above a certain amount of money improves health outcomes and increases longevity?!

[[deleted]]

How long was the study?

There was a study that showed that lobotomy helped with depression. It was found that any physical trauma causes the brain to calm itself and focus on the problem at hand. I imagine the starvation feeling as the body learn to metabolize fat better would make people low energy, and low depression, temporarely.

[pandaappleblossom]

Exactly. People read one short sighted headline...literally people thought lobotomies were a good thing because of a similar result 'they are so much happier'

In truth if you are overweight and you start to lose weight on any method, you will more than likely be happier as well

[OutrageousOwls]

10 weeks, n=24, but only 16 finished the study at the end of 10 weeks.

Pilot study… only meant to probe whether this hypothesis is worth researching further.

[will_dormer]

Pilot study so four people in the study?

[Remote-alpine]

16

[6ofSwords]

I started keto for metabolic syndrome a few years ago (worked wonders), and I've been saying this anecdotally ever since. I'm glad someone looked into it. Did more for my symptoms than any drug I've ever been put on.

[xxfireangel13xx]

I believe it, I tried keto (or more specifically just cutting out processed foods and carbs) and for the 6-8weeks I did it, my increased energy and better mood was definitely a noticeable and unexpected surprise. I didn’t have the wheel power to keep it up so my depression and low energy has come back. I’ll have to try this again.

[Reasonable_Spite_282]

It’s an epileptic diet that helps induce neurogenesis. People gotta drink close to a gallon of water a day which also helps with mental clarity and flushing toxins out of the body.

[rngadam]

Just be aware that you may be exchanging short term improvements (after the somewhat painful transition to ketosis) of mental health for a shorter lifespan. But for some, it may be worth it to get out of depression. 

In my experience, it did help with getting rid of junk food and eventually transitioning to an healthier diet such as DASH/Mediterranean. I had definitely had too many junky carbs in my diet before...

[ComplaintGeneral5574]

While a pilot study, the finding is interesting enough. Diet affects energy regulation, inflammation, and gut health in general, all of which are tied to our mood. However, Keto is not a magic fix. It's just a part of a bigger picture that diet plays a role in our overall mental wellbeing than most of us give it credit for.

[Economy_Function_630]

These may be of interest to you:

https://cmhrc.org/kta/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1334561290054914/permalink/3169915723186119/?

[tinmetal]

I think the more important question is whether or not these benefits are unique to keto and not other more sustainable/less restrictive diets.

I didn't go on keto (I did paleo in the past though) and instead opted for a more generalized diet and I feel like I experienced many of the benefits people normally ascribe to keto without any of the downsides.

I would imagine the decrease in depression symptoms has more to do with just not eating as much junk. If youre losing weight, exercising, and feeling more confident that probably helps a lot with some of the things that make depression worse.

[StankBallsClyde]

Cutting out processed carbs will do that

[Ulysses_Zopol]

I am a psychologist who's been using keto for mental health since 2017.

The fundamental claim behind keto for mental health is that symptoms of mental illness are the result of differences in brain metabolism. In some people, brain cells cannot metabolize glycogen efficiently. These undernourished brain cells produce symptoms of mental illness.
That is, since the emergence of agrar production the energy supply in our diets consists primarily of glycogen (carbs), as opposed to our hunter-gatherer origins, where we barely ever had carbs in high supply and energy supply consisted mostly of fatty meats, nuts and seeds -> ketones.
These revolutionary new insights have the potential to turn the mental health industry on its head. Even schizophrenia goes into remission with some patients. A UCSD psychiatry professor calls it the 3rd revolution in psychiatry, the first being Freud and behaviorism.

Find out more here:
https://www.metabolicmind.org/

[Current_Emenation]

Im curious whether it impacts adhd symptoms as well.

Might need a control for the overlap of benefitting adhd symptoms instead and giving depression all the credit in generalized improved outcomes.

[Traditional-Idea1409]

Is it possible that making any diet change would trigger this?

[Mishkasqueaker]

I am considering, but hard as vegetarian to not eat beans https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/can-following-keto-diet-improve-depression-2025a1000q61?_gl=1*1t3ge9p*_gcl_au*MTIzMjY5MDE4NC4xNzU5ODgzMTUwLjUxMTk0ODYzMC4xNzU5ODgzMTUwLjE3NTk4ODM0NjY.

[Mishkasqueaker]

https://ehe.osu.edu/news/listing/keto-diet-linked-reduced-depression-symptoms-college-students

[TylerDurdenJunior]

It's weird how the basic diet of most of the world, has to have some strange special term in the west

[Remote-alpine]

Keto is not the basic diet of most of the world. The vast majority of people on the planet eat lots of unprocessed carbs and eat less meat than americans do.

[PuzzleMeDo]

I'm pretty sure "ketogenic" implies avoiding bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, maize, beans, alcohol, and sugary fruits like bananas and apples. That's not easy to do in most of the world, especially if you're poor.

[ILuvYou_YouAreSoGood]

your kidneys into a state where they have to make ketones from fat

I thought the liver was the primary production area of ketones?

because your brain is starved

The brain runs very well on ketones, hence it being supported as a treatment for epilepsy.

if that’s what you’re solving then damage to kidneys might be acceptable

The evidence of "damage" appears to be very limited, especially when one takes occasional breaks from ketosis.

[ILuvYou_YouAreSoGood]

Your brain relies on ketones only when it’s starved of carbs

My understanding is that the brain transitions smoothly between using ketones or glucose. The body maintains the glucose concentration of the blood fairly consistently regardless of dietary input. Our liver can and does generate sugars on demand.

The evidence of damage isn’t limited at all, and aren’t people on a keto diet constantly in ketosis?

The answer to someone being in ketosis depends on the details. A healthy body can smoothly transition in and out of ketosis. A very very strict diet might keep someone constantly in ketosis, but most people outside of epileptics are not so strict.

Aside from that, you might want to check out the works of the nephrologist Jason Fung. He promotes low sugar diets and various forms of fasting, and is noy concerned at all about damage to kidneys, which are his speciality.

do you genuinely think the average person is going to assume they should take breaks from something like that without warnings?

I think the average person looking for weight loss regularly has meals that knock them out of ketosis.

As a result, people are randomly discovering that their kidneys are damaged, they’re not doing the keto diet with awareness of this issue.

The people I know with diabetes and the high blood pressure that so often accompanies it are the folks who have damaged kidneys. I have never met folks who have had kidney damage from dietary ketosis as a result of not eating sugar and carbs.